9/23 Quiet habitat, no Keystone, Exxon climate, Dockton pier, grouse ESA

(PHOTO: Laurie MacBride)

May the Fronds be With You
Laurie MacBride in Eye on Environment writes: "“Current affairs” factor into our decisions when we’re kayaking. If there’s next to no surface current, we’ll often just dawdle along, soaking up the scenery. When the current is stronger and it’s going in our direction, the paddling is easy so we’re able to make good speed towards a destination. By contrast, going against the current can make for hard slogging, so we usually try to time our passages to match its direction – especially if we’re heading home after an already lengthy paddle. At worst, if we’re fighting a current, we hope it’s a minor one. But currents can be localized and dynamic, changing several times over the course of the day. So how do we judge their relative speed and direction?…."

Race on to protect whales, dolphins from noise pollution
B.C. has the opportunity to conserve “globally rare” quiet habitat for endangered and noise-sensitive whales and dolphins, but fast action is required, say the authors of a new study. At least 20 liquefied natural gas plants are proposed for the B.C. coast, which could add thousands of tanker trips a year to coastal waters from Howe Sound to the Hecate Strait, the body of water between Haida Gwaii and the mainland near Kitimat and Prince Rupert. But ocean noise from shipping and other marine traffic is disruptive to marine mammals — and likely many other species — causing the animals stress, disrupting navigation, feeding and their ability to detect predators over vast areas. Noise travels hundreds of times farther in water than air, according to the study published in Marine Pollution Bulletin. Randy Shore reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Clinton says she opposes Keystone XL pipeline
Hillary Rodham Clinton broke her longstanding silence over the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, telling voters at a campaign stop in Iowa on Tuesday that she opposes the project assailed by environmentalists. The Democratic presidential candidate said the project had become an impediment to efforts to fight climate change. Ken Thomas and Catherine Lucey report. (Associated Press)

What Exxon Knew About Climate Change
Wednesday morning (Sept. 16), journalists at InsideClimate News, a Web site that has won the Pulitzer Prize for its reporting on oil spills, published the first installment of a multi-part exposé that will be appearing over the next month. The documents they have compiled and the interviews they have conducted with retired employees and officials show that, as early as 1977, Exxon (now ExxonMobil, one of the world’s largest oil companies) knew that its main product would heat up the planet disastrously. This did not prevent the company from then spending decades helping to organize the campaigns of disinformation and denial that have slowed—perhaps fatally—the planet’s response to global warming. Bill McKibben reports. (The New Yorker)

Remnants of south-end pier to be replaced
In an effort to mitigate the environmental impact of the seismic retrofit of the north-end ferry dock, crews will begin work next week to remove the remnants of the old pier next to the Tahlequah dock, as well as clean up beach debris in Dockton. Blackwater Construction has been commissioned by Washington State Ferries (WSF) to remove the creosote-soaked pilings of the old pier at the south end, in order to mitigate work on the north-end dock that will result in some increased over-water coverage, which can alter and negatively impact the near-shore environment. Sarah Low reports. (Vashon Beachcomber)

US Rejects Protections For Greater Sage Grouse
The U.S. Interior Department says the greater sage grouse does not need federal protections across its 11-state western range. The long-awaited decision affects millions of acres across the Western states.  “Today I’m proud to mark a milestone for conservation in America, because of an unprecedented effort by dozens of partners in 11 western states, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has determined that the greater sage grouse does not require protection under the Endangered Species Act,” said Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, who oversees the Fish and Wildlife Service. Amanda Peacher reports. (EarthFix)

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 222 AM PDT WED SEP 23 2015
TODAY
SE WIND 10 TO 20 KT...BECOMING E 5 TO 15 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT. W SWELL 5 FT AT 10 SECONDS. A
 CHANCE OF RAIN.
TONIGHT
E WIND 5 TO 15 KT...BECOMING SE 10 TO 20 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT. W SWELL 6 FT AT 11 SECONDS. A CHANCE
 OF RAIN.
--
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